Melissa Conner, RN being sworn in by Lt. Colonel Kristi Roers (left) and Major Michelle Lambert

Melissa Conner, RN, is returning to active military duty and on Tuesday, December 3, 2013, she got an official sendoff from her colleagues in Hennepin County Medical Center’s (HCMC) emergency department.

“Unfortunately for us one of our brightest nurses has decided to follow her dream and return to active duty Air Force in the Nurse Corps,” explains Alvin Sangma, RN, one of the Clinical Care Supervisor in HCMC’s Emergency Department, where Melissa Conner has worked since April. “But we’re awfully proud of her!”

Before she became a nurse, Conner served in the Air Force as an enlisted airman in the United States, Europe and Korea. After active duty she decided to go to nursing school and later began working at HCMC.

“While I have truly enjoyed working at HCMC’s ER and the experiences I have being part of at a Level I Trauma Center,” Conner says, “it has given me the realization that I want to continue to use my skills to serve my country in hopes to eventually deploy. I’m very thankful for the confidence and training I’ve received at HCMC and could not have asked for a more amazing team of people to work with.”

Conner asked HCMC’s interim manager Air Force Lt. Colonel Kristi Roers and Clinical Care Supervisor, Major Michelle Lambert to swear her in as an officer for this next chapter in her service.

“I can’t think of a more appropriate send-off,” she said.

In 2013, at least 41 HCMC employees required time away from work to serve in various branches of the United States Armed Forces.

Hennepin County Medical Center is a nationally recognized Level I Adult Trauma Center and Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center with the largest emergency department in Minnesota. The comprehensive academic medical center and public teaching hospital includes a 462-bed acute care hospital and primary care and specialty clinics located in downtown Minneapolis and St. Anthony, Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, and Richfield; and in Minneapolis in the Whittier Neighborhood and on East Lake Street. HCMC also has a retail clinic in Bloomington, an employee clinic in the Hennepin County Government Center, and a Neurology and Specialty Clinic in the 212 Medical Center in Chaska.